The Coca-Cola Company, in collaboration with eight global bottling partners, has announced the establishment of a new venture capital fund dedicated to sustainability investments. The Greycroft Coca-Cola System Sustainability Fund, managed by Greycroft, a seed-to-growth venture capital firm, marks a significant milestone for the company and its partners.
The fund, with a capital of $137.7 million, will prioritize addressing the carbon footprint of the Coca-Cola system. It aims to make impactful investments in five key areas:
- Packaging
- Heating and cooling
- Facility decarbonization
- Distribution
- Supply chain
John Murphy, President, and Chief Financial Officer of The Coca-Cola Company, expressed enthusiasm about the fund’s potential to drive innovation and foster sustainable practices: “This fund offers an opportunity to pioneer innovative solutions and help scale them quickly within the Coca-Cola system and across the industry. We expect to benefit from getting access to emerging technology and science for sustainability and carbon reduction.”
The fund will focus on companies at the point of commercialization, offering an ideal platform for Greycroft to collaborate with top bottling operations worldwide and accelerate the adoption of sustainable innovations.
Dana Settle, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Greycroft emphasized the market’s growing demand for sustainable supply chain and manufacturing technology. She stated, “Greycroft has an ‘invest anywhere’ approach that we believe allows us to identify promising startups with climate tech solutions ready to scale.”
The participating companies contributing to the fund’s capital include:
- The Coca-Cola Company
- Arca Continental
- Coca-Cola Bottling Co. UNITED
- Coca-Cola Consolidated
- Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
- Coca-Cola FEMSA
- Coca-Cola HBC
- Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling
- Swire Coca-Cola
Collectively, these bottlers represent nearly half of the Coca-Cola system’s global volume.
This venture capital fund builds upon the Coca-Cola system’s ongoing commitment to sustainability-focused initiatives. Notable examples include investments in recycled PET processing companies, high-tech PET recycling plants, PET plastic recycling facilities, and technological advancements for transforming PET waste into clear, food-grade PET.
Furthermore, green bonds have been issued by various system bottlers, supporting sustainable projects and fostering a circular economy. Swire Coca-Cola has also played a pivotal role in establishing Hong Kong’s first food-grade ready plastic recycling facility.
The launch of the Greycroft Coca-Cola System Sustainability Fund reflects the collective efforts of The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partners to drive sustainability across their operations, foster innovation, and create lasting positive impacts in addressing global environmental challenges.